DESCRIPTION: The Department of Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB) at the University of Connecticut has a long history of high research productivity. The objective of this proposal is to recruit a new tenure-track assistant professor to a position that was previously frozen by a State of Connecticut directive. The successful candidate will be housed in 1100 sq ft of lab and office space located in the core of PNB in the new Pharmacy/Biology Building. Preferred candidates will have a solid background in synaptic regenerative development. This area is well-represented in PNB and sister departments on campus. The new Developmental Biology Program affiliated with the Center for Regenerative Biology has as its main emphasis trauma and regeneration in the central nervous system. The PNB department has research emphasis in synaptic organization and neural stem cell differentiation. The need for an additional Assistant/Associate Professor position in PNB is justified on the basis of student demand for our courses and by the considerable advantages to be gained from further development of interdisciplinary activities in neurosciences. The PNB program of recruitment has been very successful in the recent past. For the last seven hires, the appointees have obtained funding (25 major multi-year grants) and sufficient productivity to achieve tenure and promotion. The two most junior faculty members are well positioned to continue this success.